Wrath of Lamb May 28/10

It's time I chimed in about that huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I don't really know what to say, because the disaster is so massive and so destructive it boggles the mind. It's been more than five weeks, and still the oil is continuing to pump into the ocean. About 25-thousand barrels a day.

It is now officially the worst oil spill in US history.

Dylan and I spoke about this yesterday, and he was angry that more people aren't concerned about this. I think it's because everyone feels powerless to do anything about it. But we had a caller who made a good point. She said we can all do our part to lessen our reliance on oil. Carpool... ride your bike... buy a hybrid car... don't buy stuff you don't need... just be conscious every day about how much you consume. Because oil plays a part in everything you do. From the trucks that ship your new clothes across the country, to the plastic forks you throw away at the cafeteria. Imagine if everyone... EVERYONE... made an effort.

It would actually make a difference. Believe me.

Meanwhile, if it were up to me, the executives at BP would be required by law to spend the next two years of their lives cleaning oil off birds and scrubbing turtles.

Wrath of Lamb May 27/10

I read an interesting piece of history this morning. It was on this day in 1790, the laziest man in the world went to bed and stayed there for 70 years. His name was Jeremiah Carlton, of England. He was 19 and the heir to a large fortune... he climbed into bed, thinking he would never have to work again in his life. More than 40 servants fed and bathed him until he died in bed at age 89.

I have never been more jealous of someone in my life.

As the father of a two-year old and a guy who gets up at 4am every morning for work, sleep is the one thing I cherish more than anything. I have actually got napping down to a real science now. I can doze off for 15 minutes at a time... and in the most uncomfortable positions. So, I say hats off to Jeremiah Carlton. The guy was like 'I've got a huge inheritance, I never have to work another day in my life... I'm going to bed'

70 years... Man, Jeremiah, you were one lucky S-O-B.

Wrath of Lamb May 26/10

There's been quite a bit of backlash lately for Facebook, when it comes to its privacy settings, so now the social networking site is tightening up its controls and admitting it made some mistakes. And truthfully, it is a little scary some of the stuff they've been trying to pull lately. But, it all comes down to one thing... Be careful what you post on the internet, because it's there forever.

Forever.

Everybody that signed up for Facebook knew they were signing up on a free service, run by people they don't know. Ever since this whole internet thing became popular, there have been thousands of stories of people's private lives being exposed to the world. And usually, it's their own fault. If you don't want to lose your job, don't post rants about how much you hate your boss. If you don't want your marriage to dissolve, don't post pictures of you licking whipped cream off that cocktail waitress.

It's pretty simple.

I don't like the idea of Facebook sharing my information with third party sites either, but I like Facebook enough to stay on it... for now. But we all know something bigger and better will come along soon enough. Facebook will become obsolete, just like all the others. Remember MSN Messenger? Myspace? ICQ? Until then, I will continue to use Facebook to network with friends, share thoughts and ideas, and keep up with the pointless everyday ramblings of people I barely know and don't care about.

Wrath of Lamb May 25/10

I'm pretty excited about Public Enemy coming to Victoria this Friday, and I think you should be too. These guys were true pioneers of the hip hop genre, and they were among the first groups to put rap music on the map, along with the Beastie Boys, RUN DMC, NWA and Boogie Down Productions. Public Enemy's first album was called 'Yo! Bum Rush the Show', but it was their second album, 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back' that really propelled them into the spotlight. They've been putting out albums ever since, but their influence and their relevance has faded somewhat over the years. And the fact the their flamboyant sideman Flava Flav did that awful reality show, unfortunately tainted their hard-edged image somewhat.

But the fact remains that Chuck D is one of the best rappers alive, and Public Enemy put on one hell of a show. Amazingly, there's still tickets left for this Friday, and the fact they haven't played in this neck of the woods in 13 years leads me to believe they may not be back again anytime soon. So if you are a fan of hip hop and you want to experience where it all came from, I urge you to check out Public Enemy this Friday.

Wrath of Lamb May 21/10

I'd like to put out another call for people to sponsor me for this year's Great Strides walk, happening at Royal Roads University on May 30th. The walk is to raise money for research into a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, a terrible and fatal genetic lung disease. I'm doing the walk for my friend Paul, who has had the disease all his life. He wasn't expected to live past his late teens, but he turned 40 last year.
But he is the exception to the rule. Paul firmly believes they are close to a cure, and he may see it in his lifetime. I hope he's right. As a father, I can't imagine my son being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, and then knowing every day was borrowed time. I received an email from the CF Foundation, about a 2-1/2 year old girl named Ella who has CF.

Since she was born, she's spent 70 days in the hospital, had 4 operations, 18 chest x-rays. she's sat through 1300 hours of chest x-rays and inhalations, and swallowed more than 23-thousand pills.

Two and half years old.

So, please sponsor me on this walk, so more little kids don't have to go through this. Go to www.cysticfibrosis.ca , click on the Great Strides logo, then sponsor a walker. Search my name and give what you can. Thanks!

Wrath of Lamb May 19/10

There was a bit of a brou-ha-ha at U-Vic this week, when some rabbit lovers got in the way of folks trying to trap and euthanize the bunnies. We all know the story by now... there are thousands of rabbits on the university grounds, and after several attempts to get rid of them humanely, it was decided that culling them is the best option.You see, bunnies can wreak havoc on the grounds, destroying landscaping and even causing problems with the foundations of buildings there. Now, I am an animal lover. And I love rabbits. But the unfortunate truth is, these animals are a problem.

They are not natural inhabitants of the area. They are the descendents of pet bunnies that people have dropped off there over the years. And they breed like, well, rabbits. To the animal activists who are disrupting the trapping process, I say this: If these animals were not cute little furry bunnies, would this be an issue at all?

What if they were rats?

Because that's basically what they have become. Rats disguised as Thumper. Would you be so quick to release a rat from a trap, or scoop up an armful of rats and offer to take them home? I don't think so. So, let's all suck it up, and realize the rabbits have to go. Just because they're cute, doesn't mean they're not dangerous to our health. Just ask Justin Bieber.

Wrath of Lamb May 18/10

So, I'm back from a 3-day trip to Las Vegas with 8 buddies. We had a great time... if you've never been to Vegas, it is really quite mind blowing. I noticed something interesting when I was down there. There are literally thousands and thousands of people in the streets, nearly all of them drinking. You can drink anywhere in Vegas, and you can do it 24-hours a day. Some people walk around with these giant plastic contraptions, 4 feet tall, filled with beer or margaritas or whatever. And despite all this, I never saw one fight, and very few real drunken idiots.

Much different than any typical weekend night in downtown Victoria.

I think it's because when you give people complete freedom, there's a certain amount of self-policing that takes place. People pace themselves and behave, because there's no sense of hurry or rebelliousness, because there are no rules to break. I'm not saying Victoria should allow the same kind of debauchery as Vegas, but there's something to be said for allowing grown adults to do what they want.

Wrath of Lamb May 12/10

A big thanks to the Vancouver Canucks for a great season, and a fun playoff run. Playoff hockey is always really exciting to watch, and when your home team is in the mix, it makes it that much better. I am the furthest thing from a die-hard hockey fan, but I always try to watch the Canucks in the playoffs, and for the past, oh, I don't know... fifteen years or so, I've noticed one thing. It doesn't seem to matter who's on the team, or who the coach is, the Canucks never just play in the playoffs and then lose... they always seem to completely fall apart at the end, when it really counts.

Last night was a perfect example of this.

You could actually see the team unravelling... it started about halfway thru the first period. Every Canuck fan in BC was like 'Oh no, here we go again'. But I still say, thanks for the great hockey... Hey, there's lots of cities that didn't even get into the playoffs.

So now, life returns to normal.

No more comedy shows being pushed back two hours, no more honking in the streets, and my neighbour will have to put away his airhorn for another season. Time to hit the links, boys!

Wrath of Lamb May 10/10

Happy 50th birthday to Bono. He, of course, is the lead singer of U2, arguably the biggest rock band in the world. I know not everybody is a fan of U2, but there is no denying the influence these guys have had on rock-n-roll in the past 25 years or so. And although Bono can come across as a little hokey sometimes, you gotta give him credit for all the work he has done, trying to bring awareness to third world debt and AIDS and just about every other cause on the planet.

Bono was born Paul Hewson in Dublin, Ireland, and formed U2 in 1976, as a punk band. Their first album, 'October' was released in 1981. I have a very clear memory of walking home from school in 1983, and I ran into this guy Mike, who was the older brother of a girl in my class. He was carrying a vinyl copy of 'War' and I asked him what it was. He said 'This is a band called U2.... and believe me, these guys are gonna be really huge one day'.

How right he was.So, happy 50th birthday, Bono. Thanks for the tunes.

Wrath of Lamb May 07/10

It was on this day back in 1824 that Ludwig Van Beethoven premiered his 'Ninth Symphony' in Vienna. It is also the birthdays of both Johann Brahms and Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky. I know we're a modern rock station, but believe me when I say classical music was the original rock n roll. If you've never really been into classical music, because you assume it's for old people, or it's boring or whatever, I sincerely urge you to take a closer look and listen. If you stick Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on headphones and sit back and relax, you'll be amazed at how powerful and unbelieveable this music is.

It will take you on an emotional and spiritual ride.

And this is music that was written nearly 200 years ago. I listen to classical music whenever I'm trying to get into a creative place... usualy when I'm writing, and it works every time. So go out and explore the world of classical music... Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Bach, Handel... they're all so great.

Wrath of Lamb May 06/10

You ever have someone do something nice for you, and you say something like... 'Hey, I really appreciate what you did for me there'. And they say 'No problem, man... it was the least I could do.'

Oh... great... thanks.

Thanks for doing the LEAST you could do. Thanks for bringing your 'A' game. Maybe next time, you could do, I don't know... maybe the medium thing you could do. Why even admit you're doing the least you could do?

"Oh, man, I heard your apartment was flooded, so I brought you a teaspoon... It was the least I could do."

Wrath of Lamb May 05/10

It was pretty amazing to see our city come together yesterday, to celebrate the men and women who serve in the Royal Canadian Navy. Thousands of people were downtown to watch the Freedom of the City parade, and there was a lot of hugging and cheering. There were also a few tears, when a moment of silence was observed for Petty Officer Craig Blake, a sailor who was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. Some would call that terrible timing for such a day, but I disagree. I think it's important that we never lose sight of what our military does for us. It's not just about parades and statues. These men and women are giving their lives to serve their country and to keep us protected and safe. And for that we all owe them a huge thanks.

Wrath of Lamb May 03/10

Dear Victoria Weather -

What the hell is your problem lately? What's with all the wind and the cold? Like, seriously. This is supposed to be Victoria, not freakin' Sleepy Hollow. It's officially been Spring for a month and a half now, but I haven't put shorts on once yet. I mean, it's May for God's sake. The first wind storm was kinda cool... hey, even the first two or three were kinda cool, but now it's getting ridiculous. And I don't appreciate how you throw in one nice day here and there, just to give us all a false sense that maybe this blustery nightmare is over. So, weather, I know you're busy, and you probably get a lot of mail, but I hope you read this and you tone down the wind and the rain and the cold, and let Spring do its thing. I've enclosed a sef-addressed stamped envelope and an 8x10 of you last July, during happier times. Please autograph and return.

Thanks. Yours Sincerely,

Jason Lamb.